


Will you regret it in the morning?

by draagonfly



Series: Midorijima University [1]
Category: DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Sibling Incest, because of the whole alcohol thing, it kind of started with plot, more like mizuki makes a cameo, then it slowly derailed into self-indulgent garbage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-15
Updated: 2015-06-15
Packaged: 2018-04-04 12:36:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4137813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/draagonfly/pseuds/draagonfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aoba just needs to pass this photography course and get his art credit but he isn't all that creative and his roommates are beyond useless. So obviously asking his twin for help is the answer. Obviously.</p><p>College AU!! This is probably gonna end up as a series (a very very slow to update series, probably) because I live and breathe college au's and also SlyAo so here we go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Will you regret it in the morning?

**Author's Note:**

> So here we have my second ever fanfic, and 12,000 more words of SlyAo garbage. This was meant to be a short thing to let me think more about this stupid AU but then I lost control and this monster came into existence. It was just meant to be fun and lame and then.... my trash is showing I am so sorry
> 
> [Quick background - Sly and Aoboob are twins (duh), the dick quad plus Sly all live together with puppy Ren, coils are still a thing, idk I think that's everything that's relevant, not sure if they're all in one big gay poly relationship or not (i'm leaning towards YES but we'll see)]
> 
> also I haven't edited this yet, but I'm planning to later today so I'm sorry for any mistakes orz

Three weeks into the semester and Aoba was already feeling the stress. He supposed it wouldn’t be so bad if he could stick with what he was good at, but the general curriculum was really not something he was very fond of. Public Communications was something he loved and he had completed nearly all of the major-required courses and passed with flying colors. His professors found him ‘a promising student, with lots of potential and talent’, but such talent seemed to be present only in those areas. In all honesty, he could probably should have been done with his degree by now. He had miraculously made it through college algebra, somehow convinced his physics professor that he had retained enough knowledge to earn his science credit, even managed to suffer through an entire semester of Japanese history without too much difficulty. Now, in his second to last semester, he couldn’t put it off for any longer. He needed an art course.

Aoba never considered himself very artistic; sure, he could draw a decent dog (Ren was always up for a day of modeling, as long he got a reward afterwards), and thanks to Mink he could make a lopsided but functional clay flower pot, but he didn’t think he really had enough ability to get him through a college art class. Which was how he found himself signing up for Photography 1: The Basics of Digital Imaging. He figured even the most unfortunate artist could manage to take a few nice looking pictures if they tried. How wrong he had been.

He had gotten the hang of the technical aspects pretty quickly – always fiddling around with his coil and spending time with Noiz had their advantages – but it was the creative part that he found himself struggling with. What he thought was a decent looking photo was apparently ‘cliché’ and ‘uninteresting’. Aoba gave up pretty quickly on attempting any sort of landscape photography and had decided to try his hand at portraiture in the hopes that maybe he would achieve better results with animate subjects. And it seemed to work out when he could get away with candid shots, photos of strangers drinking coffee or walking around the neighborhood park. Such a reprieve was short lived however, and soon he found himself faced with yet another obstacle: posed portraits.

As a communications major, he never felt uncomfortable talking to people. It was arguably one of his best traits. But there was a big difference between conversation for the hell of it and asking someone to pose for him. He wasn’t nearly close enough to anyone in his class to ask something so… personal? He wasn’t sure if that was the right word, but spending an hour or two in close contact with someone while giving them instructions on how to best sit to make themselves look pretty seemed awfully personal to him. Anyway, that wasn’t something he was willing to attempt.

His next best option was to ask one of his roommates, which a monster all its own. But with the project deadline fast approaching, and an unwillingness to disappoint his professor (again) he didn’t really have much of a choice. And so he began his quest.

-

His first target was Koujaku. They had been friends since they were small, and since Koujaku was a part time hair dresser as well as a college graduate, Aoba figured he would be the most sympathetic to his predicament and take pity on him. That, and he was extremely photogenic. Maybe even if his photos turned out poorly, his professor would be too distracted by Koujaku’s good looks to notice. Having attractive friends had its advantages.

“Hey, Koujaku.” Aoba had purposely picked a day when he knew his friend would be in high spirits (though he only knew because Koujaku come home with a girl last night and hadn’t re-emerged from his bedroom until noon), with the hope that he would be more amenable to the idea of spending the day in front of a camera. “So, I have this project due for my photo class, and I kind of need a model…” He trailed off, hoping that Koujaku would understand his unspoken request.

“Say no more, you know I’m always happy to help out my childhood friend.” Koujaku ended his sentence with a grin and a chuckle. Aoba was already regretting this.

“You don’t have to be so embarrassing about it, hippo.” Aoba averted his eyes in second-hand embarrassment. How could he always say things like that so casually…?

“That’s no way to talk to someone who you’re asking a favor from, Aoba,” Another grin, and a shake of his head. “Come on, let’s go somewhere that would make a nice background.” Before Aoba could protest (because he definitely would have protested given the chance, definitely) Koujaku took his hand and led him out of the house.

They ended up at the park they used to play at as children, and belatedly Aoba realized that he had no idea how to pose someone for a picture. “Uh, right, so… Maybe, if you sit on that bench over there?”

Koujaku turned and walked over the designated bench and sat down. He looked at Aoba expectantly.

“Okay, now… um…” He was making an awkward face, he could feel it. Aoba wished Koujaku would say something, break the tension. He wasn’t sure why there was so much of it anyway. This wasn’t hard. Just tell Koujaku what do to, take a few pictures, and be done. Nothing bad at all.

But Aoba’s discomfort must have been contagious because Koujaku averted his eyes and cleared his throat, seemingly unable to hold eye contact. ‘Okay, just have to do it. It will be fine if I just start somewhere.’ He began to give instructions, simple at first (“turn to the side a bit and put your arm like this” “tilt your head that way, no not that much!”) and began to snap a few pictures. But something wasn’t working.

“Koujaku, you need to relax a little. I can feel how tense you are from over here.”

“Ah, right, sorry.” Koujaku gave a little cough and… was that a blush? But he visibly attempted to relax his muscles, and it helped, for about 10 seconds.

“Koujaku.” Koujaku made a face like he wanted to say something, but they were running out of time – the sun was starting to set already, and Aoba only had about three usable photos – so he chose to ignore it.

“I’m sorry Aoba, it’s just, I’ve never felt particularly comfortable getting my picture taken…” Aoba felt his eyebrow twitch.

“You’re telling me this now?!” Really, that seemed like the sort of thing that should be said _before_ an attempt at an impromptu photo shoot. Aoba just sighed. “But yeah, I can kind of tell. We can stop if you want.”

“Maybe if we try again tomorrow, I’ll be better prepared – “ Aoba almost felt bad at the amount of guilt he saw on Koujaku's face.

“It’s fine, I have class tomorrow, and I still have a few days before the due date. I can just ask someone else.” Koujaku looked partly relieved that he was off the hook, and partly like a puppy who got denied a treat. It reminded Aoba oddly of Ren. “Don’t look at me like that, I said it’s fine right? Not everyone is comfortable getting their pictures taken, you don’t have to push yourself.”

“I’m sorry, Aoba.” He still looked a little down, but at least the sad puppy look was gone. “Let me buy you dinner at least, to make up for it.” He managed a small smile.

“I’m not going on a date with you, stupid hippo.”

Aoba let him buy him dinner anyway. Just to make up for the less-than-stellar modeling. That was the only reason. Totally.

-

Aoba’s next victim was Clear. He had a feeling that Clear would have some of the same self-consciousness when it came to having his photo taken, but considering his other options, he thought it was worth a try.

“Pose for you?” Clear looked at him with his head tilted to the side. Why do all his roommates remind him of puppies? “You mean like the pictures Noiz has on his computer?” On Noiz’s computer…?

_Oh._

He could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks. Why did he know what Noiz had on his computer anyway?! “NO. Not like those, like normal pictures. Didn’t your Grandpa ever take pictures of you as a kid?”

“Hm…” Clear seemed to give the question some consideration. “I don’t think so. I don’t think he liked cameras very much. There was only one photo in the whole house, and that was of the two of us on Christmas one year. I don’t remember who took it though.”

“Oh…” Aoba had heard stories here and there about Clear’s grandpa, but each one only solidified his first impression: eccentric to the extreme. He didn’t have a problem with it though; Clear turned out fine, if a little strange, and he seemed to have cared about Clear a lot. So despite Clear’s almost alien upbringing, he couldn’t find a reason to be too concerned. Even if he did tend to have a lot of misunderstandings. “Well, would you like to have some pictures taken?”

“I’m sorry, Aoba-san, I have to be at Kuniyashi-san’s house in an hour. I’ll be spending the weekend there, so I don’t think I’ll have time to assist you.” Clear looked genuinely sad that he wasn’t able to help out. Although Aoba figured it was for the best. Clear was definitely more suited to being a nanny than a model.

“It’s okay, Clear, really, I can find someone else. Have fun with the evil brats.” He snickered a bit. Aoba could hardly handle the three demon kids for the few hours he saw them at Heibon let alone babysitting them nearly every weekend. He had to give Clear props for putting up with them. “Tell Mio to keep her brothers in line, and not to bother Sly at the shop. He’ll be working this weekend too, I think, and I don’t trust him to control his temper after the last time…”

Clear got an uncharacteristically solemn look on his face. “Yes, Aoba-san. I will be careful to keep them away.”

“Good. See you later, Clear.”

And the smile was back. “Have a good weekend, Aoba-san!”

-

“Hey, Noiz, are you busy?” Aoba decided to ask Noiz next. He figured if he could get him to take it at least a little bit seriously Noiz might make for an interesting subject. All the piercings would be fun to look at, if nothing else.

“For you? Never.” Aoba couldn’t tell if that was meant to be sarcastic or not. He chose not to dwell on it.

“I have a favor to ask, if you swear not to make fun of me for it.” He could feel dread pooling in his stomach at the look Noiz gave him. Not a good sign.

“I can’t make any promises. Shoot.” Aoba sighed and decided to just go for it.

“I need a model for my photography class. Can you help?” He waiting for the derisive snort, or a look of unfiltered amusement at his expense. What he got instead was much worse.

“Hm, a model, huh?" He almost seemed to give the idea serious consideration. Then his facade broke and his usual teasing smirk was back. "You wanna paint me like one of your French girls?”

Aoba felt his cheeks warm for the second time that day; he didn’t know why he thought this was a good idea. He took a deep breath; he was not going to let Noiz get to him. Not this time. “First of all, I said photography, not painting. So I won’t be painting you like anything. Second of all, I’m being serious. Koujaku and Clear already said no, and I’m running out of options. Please just stop being a child for like 5 minutes and help me?”

“Rude. Is that anyway to talk to someone you’re asking a favor from?” The smirk that followed effectively shot any hope Aoba had that Noiz would cooperate. He almost said something about how Koujaku had said something just like that yesterday, but thought better of it. There was only so much pettiness he could handle, and he didn't feel like instigating another argument between the two. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

“You know what, never mind.” Noiz seemed to be enjoying his reactions and didn’t move his eyes away for a few more seconds. Eventually he turned back to his coil screens (all Aoba could make out was a headache-inducing mix of Roman letters and kanji; he couldn’t even begin to guess what Noiz was working on) and effectively ended the conversation there. Aoba just turned and walked away, debating his next move.

-

“Um, hey, Mink?”

“No.”

“…but I haven’t said anything yet.”

“No.”

“Okay.”

And that was the end of that.

-

Friday came and went and all of a sudden it was Saturday morning, two days before his project was due. There was only one more person left to ask. Aoba really didn’t want to do it.

Sly worked the morning shift at Heibon that day – though how me managed to get out of bed on time was beyond him, Sly wasn’t a morning person on the best of days; he guessed it involved a dangerously small amount of sleep and an even more dangerously high amount of caffeine – so Aoba was looking forward to the conversation even less. Attempting to talk to his sleep deprived and caffeine loaded twin was almost a death wish. He knew Sly didn’t usually intend to be mean; Aoba loved his brother and knew that Sly loved him right back even if he wasn’t inclined to show it. He had learned early on not to take anything Sly said when he was angry too seriously. But that didn’t mean Aoba _enjoyed_ being verbally berated for stupid things, like borrowing Sly’s sweatshirt without asking (Sly didn’t even like the stupid thing, it was ‘the principle of the matter’ apparently) or letting Ren onto his bed (which Sly did on a daily basis anyway, it’s not Aoba’s fault the dog got used to it). In any case, with the impending confrontation looming ever closer, Aoba’s blood pressure raised accordingly until he heard the front door open and shut and Sly made his way to their shared bedroom. 

Aoba had been prepared for a glare and a round of complaints, had been expecting it, so when he was met with neither of those things he was understandably confused. As Sly walked into the room, he looked at Aoba (who was reclining on his bed in what he hoped was a non-threatening position) and threw him a smile. A real genuine smile. What…?

“Hey, Sly…” Aoba spoke cautiously, as though the calm and complacent demeanor was a ruse to throw him off, and Sly was preparing to catch him off guard to maximize the effectiveness of his verbal lashing. But Aoba’s worries appeared to be unfounded when Sly simply continued to smile and replied in a cheery voice.

“Yo, Aoba. What’s up? Where’s Ren?” Aoba couldn’t help but look at him suspiciously.

“Nothing really, he’s probably downstairs, Mink made him another new toy. I think it’s a rabbit this time.” Aoba responded carefully, but he was starting to lower his guard; it seemed Sly was actually, truly in a good mood. Strange.

“Hah, better not tell Noiz. He’ll have a conniption if he finds Ren destroying a precious bunny.” He laughed and turned to fall onto his own bed. Aoba laughed too, partly because it was true, Noiz would be unnecessarily offended if he caught Ren terrorizing a rabbit, stuffed or otherwise. The other part of his laugh was relief. Relief that Sly was in a good mood, and he might actually be able to finish his project now. But he couldn’t help but be curious at Sly’s odd (in his opinion) behavior.

“You seem like you’re in a good mood. Something good happen at Heibon today? Did Clear manage to keep the brats away?”

Sly’s smile widened. “Yep, I heard them walking by, probably on their way to the arcade a few blocks down, but Clear bribed them with sweets and they left me alone. Thank god. After the last mess I don’t think I’m above punching a 7 year old.”

Aoba just rolled his eyes at that. “You’d never actually punch any of them and you know it. Anyway, you never answered my first question.”

“Oh yeah!” His eyes brightened. It was so unlike him it was unnerving, but in a good way. Aoba liked seeing his twin happy. “Haga said he’s planning on reorganizing and restocking the shop, and it’s gonna be closed for a few days. Said not to worry about coming in or anything ‘til Tuesday. I guess he’s hiring one of the Rib teams from around here to help out. Normally I’d be offended, being replaced by muscle-heads and all, but I’m just really glad I don’t have to worry about moving all that junk around.” Aoba agreed, it was called a ‘Junk Shop’ for a reason, and he had no doubt that a group of big Ribsters were much better suited to the job than Sly or himself.

“That’ll be a nice break. And you’ll be home more too, I feel like we haven't seen each other much lately.” Aoba smiled sincerely. “Speaking of hanging out, do you have plans today?”

Sly thought about it. “Nope, I was thinking of heading over to Black Needle tonight, if you wanted to come. Haven’t seen Mizuki in a while. But that’s not ‘til later. Why? You wanna do something?” Now that Sly was in such a good mood, Aoba’s doubts about asking for a favor had mostly disappeared. Mostly.

“Yeah, actually, I had a favor to ask you. I have a photo project due on Monday and I really need a model, but all the losers we live with are useless. Would you mind helping out?” He looked at Sly with the biggest most pleading puppy dog eyes he could muster.

“Don’t look at me like that. It’s weird. Yeah, I’ll be your model or whatever. But only if you buy me dinner after.” Of course Sly wouldn’t do anything without payment. And of course that payment would be food. Aoba had a flashback to his ‘date’ with Koujaku, but shook his head slightly to get rid of the thought. It was totally unrelated. No one went on a date with their twin; that would be _weird_. Of course it’s not the same; where did that even come from?

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll get you dinner. But you’ll do it?”

“Sure, I don’t care.” Aoba was honestly expecting more resistance, good mood or not. It was suspicious, but not enough to make him question Sly about it. Besides, he really did need to finish this project, and interrogating Sly was definitely not the way to do it. And Sly was looking at him funny, waiting for him to respond so he just nodded and let it go. For now.

This time, they ended up on a small side street off Aoyagi. It wouldn’t normally be a very attractive backdrop for a photo shoot, but the beach was too far of a walk and Sly would look ridiculously out of place at the park he went to with Koujaku (also, Sly looked really good against the cracked and crumbling walls that made up most of the Old Resident District, but he really didn’t want to think too hard about his brother’s attractiveness, because that was weird, so he pushed the thought from his mind). After his attempt with Koujaku, pathetic as it was, he felt more confident about what he was doing and immediately began to voice his instructions. He found he really enjoyed the task, being able to admire his twin but not in an awkward way, and may have drawn it out a little bit longer than was strictly necessary. Sly didn't seem to mind.

Two hours and three separate locations later, Aoba was satisfied that he had enough decent photos to complete his assignment. As soon as he realized just how much time had passed however, he realized that Sly had not once complained about, well, anything. And that was definitely suspicious, borderline worrying. Sure, he had promised food, but was one meal really worth being bossed around by your brother for two hours? He was sure Sly wouldn’t think so. Maybe he was planning on getting more out of him. Like picking up more of Sly’s shifts at Heibon, or lending him money for a new game. That must be it. There was no way Sly would be so compliant without getting something out if it. Aoba continued to scroll through the photos while his mind worked on over drive. Suddenly, Sly was wrapping his arms around him and leaning over his shoulder to look at the photos.

“Huh, so that’s what we look like in pictures. I’ve never really paid much attention before. We look good.” Aoba could feel Sly’s grin next to his ear and began to scroll with more concentration than was probably necessary. His brother noticed. “Oi, Aoba. If you press that hard you’ll break the pressure sensors. What’s up with you?”

“I should be asking you that.” He froze. He didn’t mean to say that out loud. Shit.

“Hah? What did I do? I’ve been listening to you boss me around for hours, I’d think you’d be a little more grateful.” Sly released him and turned him around to look him in the eyes. Aoba must have had a weird look on his face because Sly looked confused momentarily, before it morphed into annoyance, and he huffed. “Well fine, if you’re so uncomfortable with me I’ll just go. I’ll be at Mizuki’s, if you feel like acting like a normal person again.” And with that he began to walk away.

“Ah, wait! Didn’t you want me to get you dinner?” Aoba really did feel bad for getting on his nerves, even if it was unintentional.

“Whatever. I’m not hungry anyway.” Sly lifted a hand as if dismissing him and turned a corner out of sight.

-

Aoba wasn’t sure what he was feeling. On the one hand, this was what he had been expecting; moody and arrogant Sly, acting exactly as he always did. But on the other hand, something was different. Sure, his behavior was the same as always, but Aoba had a feeling that there was more to it this time. He had been so calm and dare he say obedient for most of the day, until Aoba had noticed just how out of character he was acting and reacted to it. Was that why his mood had changed so suddenly? Because Aoba’s had? But that didn’t make any sense; he couldn’t remember there ever being a time when Sly’s mood so strongly reflected his own. But he also couldn’t remember Sly ever behaving so amiably with him for such an extended period of time. Was Sly on drugs? Aoba erased the thought as soon as it came. Sly might be temperamental and impulsive, but a drug addict he was not. He felt bad that his mind was so quick to jump to that conclusion.

As he lay on his bed, contemplating his predicament, he heard a knock and the door swung open. “Seragaki.” Aoba’s eyes widened. It was rare that Mink would approach him so openly like this. Not to say that he was rude or antisocial, he just preferred to keep to himself.

“H-hey Mink, what’s up?” He winced at the stuttering. Apparently the strangeness of the day was getting to him.

“I can feel your anxiety from across the house. Something you want to talk about?” Was he really that bad? Mink’s question might have come off as imposing or nosy if it was anyone else, but the way Mink said it rang with sincerity and concern. Whether Aoba took the offer to talk or refused, Mink would accept it without question; he was simply offering his ear if it was needed. Aoba was very tempted to accept. So he did.

“A little bit. Do you mind?” Mink’s response was to enter the room, shutting the door behind him and taking a seat on across from Aoba on Sly’s bed. He didn’t offer any more prompting beyond quiet eye contact that was both intimidating and comforting at once. Aoba often thought of Mink as a walking paradox. “It’s about Sly.” Again, Mink offered no verbal response, but somehow Aoba could tell he was listening. So he continued. “I asked him to help me out with my photo project because no one else in this house would do it,” he sent a pointed glare at Mink, but received no reaction. He wasn’t really expecting one. “And we ended up spending a lot more time on it than I was expecting. But what really got to me was how obedient he was? Like, he didn’t complain about being bossed around or wasting his time even once. I was really surprised. I didn’t notice though until after we had finished, and I guess something about how I was acting set him off because then he started acting all pissy and left right away. He didn’t even make me buy him food. And I mean, I don’t think he’s really mad because he still invited me to meet at Mizuki’s later, but I’m just nervous. I can’t tell at all what’s going on with him. Am I overreacting?” He turned to Mink as he posed his question and waited for his input. And waited. And waited. Just as he thought he wasn’t going to get a response at all, Mink opened his mouth.

“Your obliviousness is unparalleled.” He said it in such a way that made it clear it wasn't an attack, merely a statement. Aoba reacted anyway.

“H-hey! You offered to listen, and now you’re insulting me?!” Aoba knew that was just how Mink was, but it still stung a little. See if he ever confided in him again…

“Not an insult. Just an observation. Are you going to meet him tonight?” And just like that, concerned-father-Mink was back.

“I’m not sure. I’d like to. We haven’t had much time to hang out lately with my classes and his job. But I don’t want to end up fighting or something.” Aoba turned back to look at the ceiling. Brothers were supposed to argue sometimes, he knew that. But he still preferred to get along with Sly if he could. He heard Mink sigh.

“I can’t speak for Sly, but I think it would be in your best interest to talk with him. If you end up arguing, so be it. Sitting around, brooding over a situation that is easily resolved will benefit no one.” And with that, Mink stood up and made for the door.

“Hey, Mink.” He paused with his hand on the door knob. “Thanks. For listening to me.” Mink nodded slightly in Aoba’s direction and left the room. Mink might not be the most sympathetic therapist, but talking the situation through definitely helped. He’ll have to return the favor sometime. But for now, he decided to heed Mink’s advice; he swung his legs to the floor and got ready to head out.

-

It was already dark out by the time he arrived at Black Needle. Mizuki’s ‘bar’ – it wasn’t so much a bar as a medium sized waiting area with a small dance floor and a counter stocked with alcohol – had never been a hot spot for Midorijima’s night life, but it was usually crowded enough to warrant the title. Tonight was no exception, and Aoba found it difficult to find an unoccupied seat amidst the mess of drunken Ribsters and other customers. Eventually he found one and just as he sat down he managed to catch Mizuki’s eye and waved him over.

“Yo, Mizuki. Looks like you’ve got your hands full, huh?” Mizuki smiled proudly.

“Yup, business has been great lately. In fact, I just hired a couple people to help out at the bar on nights like these. It’s nice to be able to enjoy the crowd for once.” He looked around the shop fondly as if to prove his point. “Hajima is a great guy, and Michiko is a little on the aggressive side but the patrons love her so it’s been working out great.”

“That’s good to hear. I’m kind of surprised you didn’t hire Dry Juice guys though.”

“Well, you know what they say about working with family and all that,” he made a vague gesture with his hand as if that would explain it better.

“That’s true I guess. Hey, have you seen Sly around? I thought he would’ve shown up already.” Aoba took another look around the bar on the off chance he missed his twin's mop of blue hair the first time. When he turned back to Mizuki though, the look on his face made him frown. “What’s that look for?”

“Ah, nothing, it’s just… I think Sly went out back for a bit. He’ll probably be back in a minute.” The forced smile that accompanied his sentence only made Aoba’s frown deepen.

“Oi, what – “

“Aoba! You finally showed up!” Aoba jumped a little at the volume and twisted to look in the direction the shouting was coming from.

“Sly? What are you doing, why are you yelling? You didn’t give me a specific time or anything to meet you.” Suddenly Sly’s face fell. He was clearly already drunk and Aoba could smell the booze and cigarettes on him as he approached. He didn’t hate it as much as he usually would have. “Sly, are you okay –“

“I’m fine.” The way his forehead creased said otherwise. “I thought you weren’t coming. Come on, drink with me.”

“I don’t really think I’m in the mood…” In all honesty, Aoba could really have used a drink right about then, but something about the way Sly was acting now, how he had been acting all day, told him that he should be careful. “Sit down, you look like you’re about to fall over. Mizuki, you know he’s a lightweight, why’d you give him so much?” He sent an accusing glare in Mizuki’s direction.

“Don’t look at me, I’ve only made him two drinks. But I’m not a babysitter, I can’t control what other people buy for him.” He looked genuinely apologetic, so he let it go. “Anyway, I’ve got a customer coming in for some new ink so I need to get set up. Try not to throw up on the floor or anything, yeah?” Aoba just raised his hand in a dismissive wave.

“Yeah, yeah, don’t worry, we’ll keep your precious bar vomit-free.” With a wave and an awkward smile, Mizuki excused himself to the back. “Sly, seriously sit down, you’re making me dizzy just looking at you.” Sly didn’t look happy but he complied with a huff and turned to face the counter. Aoba just sighed. Why would he invite him to hang out if he was just going to act like this all night?

Figuring Sly would talk when he wanted to, Aoba caught the attention of one of the new bartenders (Michiko, if he wasn't mistaken) and ordered something mild. Mizuki must have told them the blue-haired twins were friends because she didn’t ask for payment, just smiled and moved away as soon as the drink was done. He’ll have to remember to thank Mizuki later. Sly still didn’t appear to feel like speaking yet, so he took a sip of his drink and opened up the photos he took earlier on his coil. He had transferred them over so he could look at them and decide which to include and which didn’t quite make the cut.

As he was skimming through, he was struck with just how photogenic his twin was. Aoba had always known they were at least somewhat nice to look at, attractive even, if they tried, but he had never seen Sly look quite like he did in these pictures before. He was right that shooting on the street was a good idea. It suited Sly. Not because his brother was trashy or anything, but more like the grey and crumbling scenery contrasted nicely with the bright blue of his hair and the way his eyes almost seemed to glow in the right lighting. He couldn’t help but be impressed with just how nice Sly looked when he wasn’t scowling or glaring as he was prone to do. Aoba tried to convince himself that his observations were purely from an artistic standpoint and had nothing to do with the light and airy feeling in his chest. That was just the alcohol kicking in (he didn't dwell on the fact that he had only had about two sips so far; he had always been a lightweight like this twin).

He was looking at one of his favorite pictures of the day – one where Sly had his hair in a high ponytail, leaning against the side of an old building and looking at the camera out of the corner of his eyes while a loose smile graced his lips – when he felt a pressure on his shoulder.

“I like that one.”

Aoba smiled at him and bumped his cheek against the top of Sly’s head. “Me too. You look really good.” That must have been the alcohol talking.

“Something’s weird about it though.” Curious, Aoba waited for him to continue. “I think it’s my hair.” Aoba snorted a little and Sly just gave him a look.

“Haha, sorry, it’s just, your hair?”

“Yeah. It looks weird. I never wear it up like that.” His brother could be adorable sometimes.

“Stupid, it looks fine. You’re just not used to seeing it like that is all. The way the sun is hitting it almost makes it look like a waterfall. It’s pretty.” That was _definitely_ the alcohol talking. Sly raised an eyebrow.

“So I have a waterfall coming out of my head. Wonderful.”

“Shut up, you know I didn’t mean it like that. I just mean it looks soft and shiny, like if you ran your fingers through it would feel weightless.” If there was a way to get the alcohol to _stop talking_ , Aoba would really appreciate that information right about now. Sly looked away and Aoba wasn’t sure if the pink on his brother’s cheeks was from the drinks earlier or from embarrassment. Maybe a little of both. 

But his behavior reminded Aoba of why he was so nervous to come here in the first place. “Are you okay? You’ve been acting strange all day. You’re not getting sick are you?” Apparently that was the wrong thing to say because suddenly the scowl was back and Sly was glaring at the table as though it had offended him personally.

“I’m fine, I’m not being weird. You’re being weird.”

Aoba realized that he would probably regret saying anything later on, but the little alcohol he had in system was giving him more confidence than he would have had otherwise. “Sly, you came home this morning – from an early shift, mind you – practically beaming, and then let me boss you around for two hours without complaining even once. You didn’t even make me buy you dinner for it, and I know how much you love free food. And now I’ve given you ample opportunities to make fun of me in the last five minutes but you haven’t taken advantage of even one of them. You can’t tell me that isn’t strange.”

“So you only said those things to get a reaction from me then?” It wasn’t so much a question as a statement, a ‘that’s how it is I guess’ acceptance of fact.

“What? No, I just mean I said some embarrassing things and usually you’d jump at the chance to mock me for it but here you are, not doing that.” Aoba was beyond confused now. “So what’s up with you? You can tell me if something’s bothering you. That’s what brothers are for right?” He tried to sound as encouraging as possible, but he wasn’t sure it would have the desired effect. He really did want to know if something was wrong. As frustrating as Sly could be, he was also his brother, his twin, and Aoba didn’t want to see him upset.

“You’re concerned that I’m not making your life difficult.” Well, that’s one way to put it…

“I mean, yeah, I guess, if you want to say it like that. It’s just that you usually do, so…”

“Is it so hard to believe I actually enjoyed hanging out with you today?” Aoba was caught completely off guard, and he knew his face showed it. But the look in Sly’s eyes conveyed nothing but sincerity.

“You did?”

“I wouldn’t have said so if I didn’t, are you an idiot?”

And boy did Aoba feel like one. He was so used to Sly constantly getting on his nerves that he didn’t even consider the possibility that Sly could enjoy something like that.

“But then, why did you get all pissy afterwards? You left like I had offended you or something…” The pieces were coming together, but the whole picture was still blurry. He noticed that his glass was empty and at some point a new drink had manifested itself in front of him. He took a large gulp.

“Because I was offended. You would be too if your own twin looked at you like you had grown another head.” Did he do that?

“Shit... I’m sorry Sly. I guess I was just thrown off? I honestly wasn’t expecting you to enjoy being bossed around by me.” Aoba felt a lump of self-loathing settle in his stomach. Mink was right about him being oblivious. He should probably work on that.

“It wasn’t that I liked being bossed around, though that wasn’t as bad as I was expecting either.” The drinks must have loosened Sly’s tongue a bit too. Or maybe that was just Aoba assuming things again. “It was nice to hang out with you though. You got so into it, and you kept smiling like a dumb-ass behind your camera. How could I not be amused by that?” And there was the Sly he knew and loved. “But anyway, I guess, if you ever needed me to help out again, I wouldn’t hate it…” He trailed off at the end and Aoba almost didn’t catch it. Almost.

“Thanks, Sly.” He gave his brother a genuine smile, and hopefully Sly could hear the sincerity behind his words. “You were a pretty good model, so I may just take you up on that offer. Ah, but I should finish this project first before I thinking about the next one.” He re-opened his coil and navigated back to the folder where he had stored the photos.

“You really want to do that now? Do it tomorrow, hang out with me for a bit.” Sly’s signature grin was back and Aoba was both relieved that his brother was back to normal, and suspicious to have a drunk Sly looking at him like that. “I’m not gonna do anything weird, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Leave it to his twin to see right through him. “Come on, finish your drink and dance with me.”

“Dance?! I’m not going to dance with you Sly.” Especially not to this music, in this atmosphere, in _Mizuki’s bar_. “Just…” But Sly was giving him that look, the look that broke Aoba down every time and he knew it was only a matter of time before he gave in. “Fine. Give me another drink, then I’ll dance with you.” Sly’s triumphant smirk did nothing to ease his worries. “Better make it two.”

-

Two shots each and a rum and coke later, and Aoba was feeling good. True to his word, he had allowed himself to be dragged away from the counter and onto the small dance floor, where he very quickly found himself surrounded by sweaty bodies and loud music. He couldn’t find it in himself to care too much though between the buzz of alcohol in his veins and the way his twin grabbed low on his waist, just above his hip bones, and brought them closer together.

“O-oi Sly, what are you –“

“Shh, calm down Aoba. Not like we haven’t been this close before.”

“This is a little different!”

Sly didn’t respond and began to move to the beat of the music crashing over them. Once Aoba got over his embarrassment (which took a surprisingly short time, he noted), he found that he really enjoyed dancing with Sly. He had danced like this with other people in the past, but they were usually either too awkward or too sexual, trying to hump him with no regards to the people around them. But Sly was neither of those things. He moved in a way that was fluid enough to be comfortable but not so sexual it was weird. Aoba let himself fall into Sly’s pace and moved with him.

“You’re good at this.” Aoba opened his eyes (when had he closed them?) and looked back at Sly. There were extremely close, but Aoba made no move to increase their distance.

“You too.” He was looking into Sly’s golden irises – if Aoba didn’t know better he might have described them as dangerous, but he did know better so they only looked beautiful – when his gaze was drawn to his twin’s hair. The lights were hitting it in such a way that it was captivating; it was dim in the bar but every once in a while a spot light would shine directly onto Sly’s head and illuminate the cerulean strands with a pretty gold to match his eyes. Aoba couldn’t look away.

“Um, Earth to Aoba, why’d you stop?” He quickly looked back to Sly’s face and gave an apologetic smile.

“Ah, it’s nothing sorry. Just, your hair. It’s really pretty.” Sly chuckled lowly.

“Pretty, huh? Like a waterfall?” Aoba knew he was teasing but answered anyway.

“Yeah, like a waterfall.” Sly looked momentarily shocked at Aoba’s comment, but was quick to recover.

“Want to see if it feels as weightless as it looked earlier?”

In any other situation, Aoba would’ve blushed up to his ears and smacked him for being an idiot. In any other situation, he would’ve called Sly a name and stomped away. But this wasn’t any other situation. Aoba was tipsy (drunk, he was drunk), and he had had such a nice day with his brother, and he didn’t have the capacity to be embarrassed anymore. So he nodded and reached for his twin.

It wasn’t weightless like he had imagined, it just felt like hair, but it was nice all the same. He was right about it being soft and silky – thanks to Koujaku’s insistence that everyone in the house conditioned regularly – and Aoba found that he really didn’t want to stop touching it.

“It just feels like hair,” he said as he continued to move his fingers through it. “But it feels like nice hair. Probably nicer than mine.” He was just thinking out loud, but he couldn’t pretend he wasn’t pleased when he felt Sly mirror his actions in his own locks.

“Mm, it is nice. Keep doing that.” Aoba just nodded and closed his eyes to better enjoy the feeling of having his hair gently combed though. He thought this must be what Ren felt like.

And then suddenly, his face collided with his brother’s.

“Ow!”

They both clapped a hand to their forehead and turned to look at who dared interrupt their moment, only to realize something very important. They were standing still in the middle of a crowded dance floor, playing with each other’s hair – their twin’s hair – and standing close enough that to anyone not paying attention they might have been kissing. Aoba’s eyes widened comically and even Sly let out a small cough.

“Maybe we should go…”

“Yeah, that’s probably best.”

So they made their way out of the bar (without telling Mizuki, they would be scolded for that later) and headed in the direction of home.

-

They made their way down the streets of the South district and soon found themselves on the main stretch of Aoyagi. It was a slightly longer route than if they had taken the alleys and backstreets, but neither felt like trying to navigate the more dangerous territories in their drunken state. For most of the way they talked and laughed and generally had far more fun than a simple walk home usually called for, but then Sly suddenly got quiet and it was obvious (even to Aoba) that he was trying very hard not to stare at him.

“Um, Sly, I know you got mad at me for asking this earlier but… seriously, are you okay?”

In an attempt to cover up his awkwardness, Sly stuck his tongue out like a five year old and made a quick detour into one of the side streets.

“Sly?! Where are you going, I’m sorry,” Aoba called out as he tried to keep up with his brother’s suddenly faster gait. “Please, I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to make you angry again. Sly, wait up, talk to me – “

And then Aoba collided with Sly for the second time that night when he suddenly stopped and turned to face him. “Calm down, I’m not mad. Geez, you worry too much.” Sly eyed him playfully and leaned back against the side of a building, an image reminiscent of the one on Aoba had been admiring earlier on his coil.

“Okay, so you’re not mad. Then what the hell are you doing?” Aoba just stood there watching as Sly reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

“Nothing. Just don’t feel like going home yet.” He then pulled out a small black lighter and placed the end of a cigarette between his lips. Aoba continued to stare. “What, you want one?”

Sly proceeded to light the end and Aoba crinkled his nose as his brother inhaled and released a small cloud of smoke into the air. “I wish you wouldn’t do that. You and Koujaku both, it’s a terrible habit.”

Sly chuckled and took another drag. “So me and Koujaku get nagged, but Mink doesn’t? If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were playing favorites.” He let out his lungful of smoke and made sure to aim it in Aoba’s general direction.

Aoba just rolled his eyes as his childishness. “Mink is Mink, and he can do what we wants.” Sly shrugged at that. “And anyway I’m never close enough to Mink to be bothered by it. You on the other hand,” he sent a pointed glare, “are constantly invading my personal space. I wouldn’t mind so much if you didn’t smell like an ashtray.” If he noticed the implications behind his statement, he didn’t show it.

“Hmm,” Sly hummed lightly. “Fine, you win.” He dropped the cigarette on the ground and stepped on it.

“Wait really? Sly what are you – “ 

In retrospect, he had brought this on himself. He really needed to be more self-aware. Before he could finish asking Sly just what the hell he thought he was doing, Aoba found himself pinned against the wall with his twin very much in his personal bubble again. “Um, Sly…” He trailed off, not sure where he was going with that sentence anyway.

“Yes, Aoba?” Something about the look in his eyes was intimidating, but there was something else bubbling under the surface that Aoba couldn’t quite name. Actually, he knew what the name was, but he really, really didn’t want to believe that Sly would look at him like that. It must the lack of light in the alley, or the alcohol (a lot of things could be blamed on the drink it seemed), or something. “You look terrified, am I really so scary?”

Aoba stopped breathing. He could’ve sworn Sly was getting closer, but there was such minimal distance between them to begin with it couldn’t be possible. Soon, Sly was so close he could feel his twin’s breath on his lips. Despite the remnants of tobacco still lingering, he didn’t hate it.

He must have been really focused on the air being shared between them, because he almost didn’t notice when the soft almost ticklish feeling was replaced with something still soft, but decidedly more solid. It took him a moment to realize what was happening but when he did, it hit him like a load of bricks. Sly was kissing him. Sly was kissing him. And not in the awkward, accidental way that happened sometimes when they turned their head the same way when they hugged, or the quick lets-just-get-this-over-with way from back in high school when their friends would dare them to kiss each other like it was the most ridiculous thing their teenage minds could come up with. This was very much different from those times in that it was purposeful and firm and everything Aoba was not expecting. Once his brain was once more in control of his body, he raised his hands to push Sly away, was just about to, when Sly noticed what he was planning and removed himself of his own volition. But Aoba still didn’t lower his hands; they remained comfortably on Sly’s chest, just resting there. He was grateful that Sly didn’t make any move to step back or continue what he had been doing. It gave him time to contemplate what was happening and decide whether he should allow it to happen or if he could leave now and pretend nothing had even happened in the first place. But it also gave him time to realize that he didn’t have the desire or the ability to think beyond how much he didn’t hate what Sly was doing and against his better judgement decided not to think any more at all. He looked up to Sly’s face and immediately felt a little bad for the sheepishness he saw there. It looked out of place on Sly’s features and he wanted it gone.

This time it was Aoba who planted his lips against Sly’s, in much the same way the Sly had done to him before: firm if not a little tentative, still giving them both the option to stop if they wanted. They didn’t.

A few seconds (or minutes, Aoba wasn’t sure at this point) later and the kiss deepened, by who’s intention it was unclear. Aoba tilted his head slightly to mold his lips more comfortably against Sly’s and his brother did the same. Hesitantly, Aoba parted his lips only slightly, gauging Sly’s reaction to the bold move, and moved them slowly, gently. Sly didn’t hesitate to reciprocate the action with more confidence and vigor than Aoba had done. Sly swiped his tongue teasingly against Aoba’s lower lip, asking for permission to take this further, and Aoba immediately widened his mouth more and extended his own tongue out to meet his twin’s. Then what had started as an almost innocent meeting of lips became a full on make-out session, lips slick with escaped saliva and tongues sliding together in a way that should have been embarrassing but it wasn’t. Both brothers discarded all their hesitations and lost themselves in the feeling of the kiss. Aoba was pushed more forcefully against the alley wall and he would’ve been more annoyed had it not been for the fact that Sly’s roughness felt so good. Before he could be fully pressed back though Sly’s hands wound their way around him, one sliding into his hair to protect his head from colliding with the brick, and the other dragging slowly down his spine and resting on the small of his back, pressing their hips together in a way that nearly made him moan. He still had the presence of mind to keep himself quiet for now. Aoba’s hands hadn’t left their place on Sly’s chest but as he was forced back and felt Sly’s hands on him, he couldn’t help but curl his fingers and grip harder on the front of Sly’s shirt, as though it was the only thing keeping him from melting into the wall behind him.

Their kisses got rougher then, Sly occasionally unsealing their lips to nibble at Aoba’s bottom lip, only to forcefully capture them again and for Aoba to wrap his arms around his neck and pull them impossibly closer. Sly similarly brought the hand that was on Aoba’s back farther around his waist and grabbed onto his hip. At that, Aoba couldn’t hold back his voice anymore and let out a quiet grunt which earned him another squeeze of his hip and light grind of Sly’s pelvis against his own. He gasped into Sly’s mouth and pressed back, his arousal meeting his brother’s in such a way that made him repeat the action again and again and again. He heard Sly growl low in his throat and felt that familiar smirk against his lips (though something was different about it through the haze of arousal) before his twin separated their mouths and moved down to kiss his neck. As Sly was sucking and nipping at his throat – probably trying to leave marks, the bastard – the hand protecting Aoba’s head from the wall untangled itself from the strands and descended down his body, caressing it lightly until his fingers rested against his hipbone giving Sly the leverage he needed to grind down harder.

Aoba’s dick was slowly (or not so slowly) swelling to full hardness and he could feel that Sly was reacting just as strongly. The combined stimulation on his neck and groin made him squeeze his eyes shut and his breaths become more ragged and uneven.

“Haah, Sly…”

Sly continued to mouth at the skin behind his ear and rub small circles into his hips as he responded with a sigh of his twin’s name, “Aoba…”

Aoba loosened his grip around his brother’s shoulders and moved his head to look directly into his eyes. “Sly… hah. More.”

He watched as Sly’s eyes flashed dangerously (though it only served to turn Aoba on even more) and then their lips met again, rougher and louder, teeth clicking and lips smacking together with abandon. Aoba was in heaven.

Sly’s hands moved upward, sliding under his shirt and drawing out small whimpers as he dragged his nails over his stomach, his sternum, purposefully avoiding his nipples until they reached the dip of his collarbone and paused there for a moment before retreating and brushing over the small nubs so gently Aoba couldn’t help the whine that escaped his throat. Sly chuckled at that and gave Aoba what he wanted, pressing more firmly and rubbing until they stood hard and pointed, never stopping the assault on Aoba’s lips.

While Sly busied himself with teasing Aoba’s chest, Aoba moved his hands down the curve of Sly’s waist, feeling his muscles contracting, and let them take purchase under his shirt just above where his pants sat low on his hips. He massaged gently occasionally dipping below the waistline and enjoying every groan and buck of his brother’s hips against his own. Sly allowed their lips to separate and leaned his forehead against his brother’s, panting hard. Distracted by Sly’s ministrations on his chest, he let his one of his hands move forward and was surprised momentarily when he felt his fingers make contact with the line of hair that disappeared down the front of Sly’s pants.

He didn’t have long to be surprised though, because almost as soon as it happened Sly growled low in his chest and quickly moved his own hand down to knead Aoba through his jeans. Aoba’s eyes flew open at the sudden contact.

“Ah! Shit, Sly!”

Seemingly satisfied with the reaction, Sly pressed harder and let his other hand slip out from Aoba’s shirt and started to unbutton and unzip Aoba’s jeans. As soon as he tugged down the zipper, he shifted Aoba’s jeans and boxers down in one go, exposing his flushed and hard cock to the cool night air. It twitched upon its release and Aoba watched as Sly swallowed hard.

“Fuck Aoba, you’re so sexy like this.” Aoba’s face was flushed – from embarrassment or arousal, he wasn’t sure, though it probably didn’t really matter – and he was kiss stunned and panting, pupils blown wide and hair sticking to his neck uncomfortably from the exertion. Combined with his state of partial undress, dick standing proudly and starting to leak pre-cum, he probably looked absolutely shameless. His twin’s eyes were trained on him, moving up and down his body from his burning cheeks to his stiff cock and back again.

“S-Sly. You’re staring…” Aoba tried to show his concern, but it was mostly masked by the lust and desire so apparent in his hazel irises.

“Sorry, Aoba.” He reached forward and wrapped his hand around Aoba’s cock. It throbbed at the attention, and Aoba moaned and gripped Sly harder. “You look so good this way, all hot and desperate. Just for me.” He whispered his last sentence against Aoba’s cheek and gave him a small kiss there. At the same time he moved his hand slowly from base to tip and back again, and Aoba squirmed. Sly smiled and continued to whisper against his ear this time, “I want to see more of this side of you. See what it will take to unravel you completely.” Aoba’s breath hitched at the declaration and he moaned loud and long when Sly began pumping him quick enough to build up even more want and cause more wetness to bead at the tip, but not enough to send him over the edge.  
He was both incredibly frustrated and unbearably hot.

Sly swiped his palm over the head to gather some of the pre-cum and smeared it over Aoba’s cock, making his movements smoother. Aoba’s moans were growing louder by the minute – why did he have to be so loud? – and suddenly it occurred to him that Sly’s own need was being neglected. Somewhere underneath the pleasure he was feeling he recognized that it was hardly fair for him to be feeling this good and not be doing anything to make it good for his brother.

“Sly, wai- ah- wait a sec-cond.” He barely managed to choke out his request and though Sly’s movements slowed, they didn’t stop and Aoba had to really focus on catching his breath enough to continue. “You, you too. Let me touch you.” In the heat of the moment, in his alcohol induced haze and lust clouded mind, he couldn’t find it in himself to be embarrassed at the words, though he knew on some level that he would probably remember his behavior later when he was sated and sober and tried very, very hard not to lose his confidence. Sly looked satisfyingly shocked at Aoba’s forwardness and with a smile bordering on teasing, he brought his hands to Sly’s pants and tugged them down along with his boxers. He was pleased to find his twin just as hard as he was and wasted no time in reaching forward and sliding his hand from base to tip in much the same manner as Sly had done. He heard Sly groan at the stimulation and pulled him closer, still stroking him firmly. Sly staggered forward a couple steps and only stopped when Aoba brought their dicks together and squeezed lightly.

“Mm, holy shit that feels good.”

Aoba could only nod as he rested his other arm on Sly’s shoulder and leaned forward to catch his twin’s lips in another kiss, this one not as needy but twice as sensual, as if he was trying to put all of his feelings about the situation, about his brother into one press of their lips. And maybe he was.

He kept pumping them together, occasionally gathering pre-cum from the tips and smearing it down the shafts assisting in his movements. Soon they were both panting even harder than before, their moans reverberating probably too loudly in the small alley, and Aoba couldn’t focus on anything besides the feeling of sharing something so intimate, so pleasurable with the one person he loved above everyone else. It was bliss. Distantly, he thought he heard his coil’s ringtone join in to echo off the walls, and was momentarily reminded of how annoyed Mizuki probably was, but he was too far gone to care and quickly forgot about it.

Just as he felt that familiar heat coiling in the pit of his stomach, Sly closed his hand over his and halted his movements. “What…?”

“Not yet. I’m not ready to end this. I said I was going to unravel you, didn’t I?” Eyes wide at the glint in his twin’s eyes, Aoba could only nod and remove his hand, their cocks flushed a matching pink and both slicked with a mixture their own fluids. He almost whined at the loss of stimulation, but was promptly cut off by his brother’s commanding tone. “Take your pants off.”

Huh?

Sly just rolled his eyes at the dumb look on Aoba’s face. How he managed to keep his attitude up at a time like this almost impressive. "At least one leg, yeah?” Aoba was wary of what his brother was planning, but he trusted him not to do anything too ridiculous. Probably. Either way, he did as he was told and slid his jeans all the way down to his ankles and stepped one leg out. It was too late to be feeling embarrassed now, but his shame was relentless. His blush spread all the way down to his chest and he barely resisted the urge to attempt to cover himself. He didn’t have to resist long though before Sly was stepping back to press them flush together again, raising three fingers to Aoba’s lips. “Suck.”

Aoba’s mind finally caught up to what Sly was planning (better late than never, he thought vaguely, in the back of his mind) and realizing that if he didn’t comply he would definitely regret it later, took Sly’s fingers into his mouth. He sucked them hard, earning him a groan from Sly, and moved his tongue around and between being sure to coat them completely. When Sly deemed them slick enough he pulled them out from Aoba’s mouth, a string of saliva connecting them back to his lips before it snapped against his chin. He made no move to wipe it off.

“Lift your leg for me.” Aoba hesitated for half a second before raising his knee so Sly could hook an arm underneath and lift it even higher. Without so much as a warning, Aoba felt a finger press against his hole and he forced himself to breath, to relax as best he could. This wasn’t his first time having sex with another man so he was somewhat prepared for the feeling of something foreign pressing into him. What he failed to remember was how long it had been since then, and even though he knew what was coming, he couldn’t help the small grunt of protest when it burned just a little too much to ignore.

Sly, noticing the look on Aoba’s face, immediately halted his actions. “Shit, you okay?”

Aoba tried again to relax, really focused all of his energy on it, until he felt himself loosen just slightly around Sly’s finger and the burning receded. “Y-yeah, I’m fine. Keep going.”

Sly’s eyebrows creased and he opened his mouth to say something but this Aoba was the one to cut him off. “Seriously, it’s fine. Please…” Now that the pain was mostly gone, he just really wanted Sly to continue and wiggled his hips a little. That was another thought that he’d have to try not to be mortified by later on.

Sly still looked unconvinced but accepted Aoba’s words and began to push his finger farther in. This time the noise that left Aoba’s mouth was one only of mild discomfort, and as Sly pulled his finger out and pushed back in a few more times, the discomfort morphed into pleasure and soon Aoba was clutching on to Sly, moaning loudly in his ear. Sly kept working that first finger in and out until Aoba unconsciously starting moving his hips down in time with Sly’s thrusts and then he felt an emptiness before Sly began working in a second finger beside the first. This time Aoba only felt uncomfortable for a moment and he quickly adjusted to the larger intrusion, moving back against Sly’s fingers sooner than before. Sly didn’t hesitate before adding a third and this time Aoba moaned immediately, the loudest he had all evening. Sly shoved his fingers in more aggressively and scissored them apart until Aoba was a sweaty, blushing mess, biting his lip so hard he thought it might bleed in between rough sighs of his brother’s name.

“Oh- oh god, Sly, mmf- fuck, Sly! It-it’s fine, please, ah!”

At that last exclamation, Sly’s fingers abruptly left him and he tried hard not to whine at the loss; he knew something much better would be replacing them. And then he heard Sly spit into his palm (it would’ve been gross if he had the mental capacity to care, which he didn’t) and something hard and hot and much, much more pleasurable than Sly’s fingers pressed against him. Sly was careful, which Aoba was grateful for, and slowly, so slowly it nearly drove him insane, Sly pushed past the ring of muscle and slid inside. Aoba would later be impressed at the level of self-control Sly was exhibiting, but for now he was just impatient. Heavy pants and broken pleas left his mouth until Sly was fully sheathed inside and only then did Aoba voice what he truly wanted.

“Sly,” a pause while he caught his breath, “hurry up and fuck me.”

He felt the exact moment Sly’s control snapped with a squeeze of his thigh and a hitch of breath and then Sly was pulling out almost all the way and Aoba couldn’t help but clench around him trying to keep him inside. He felt Sly’s grin against his neck and the next moment he nearly blacked out from pleasure as Sly slammed back fully, hitting his prostate directly as he did. Sly began a relentless pace and between the drinks earlier and the near desperation of Sly moving inside him he knew wasn’t going to last very long. He was disappointed for all of three seconds and then Sly hit that spot again and he screamed with the force of it, pushing his hips down to meet Sly’s thrusts and trying to pull him deeper. If Sly’s uneven panting was any indication, his brother would last about as long as he would at this rate, though even if he could’ve said something in between the embarrassingly loud noises escaping his mouth, Aoba didn’t think he would have.

Sly’s thrusts became more erratic as he neared his limit and Aoba was shifted slightly as he adjusted his grip on his leg, the new angle ensuring that his prostate was pounded into with every thrust. Sly climaxed first with a sharp groan, pressing impossibly deep into Aoba as he released, coating his insides with hot semen. Even as Sly spilled inside him, he felt his twin wrap his hand once again around his cock and stroke him as he slowed. The external stimulation and the warmth filling him brought Aoba over the edge and he came hard with a cry into Sly’s hand. Sly somehow had the presence of mind to cup his hand over the tip as Aoba released and kept the mess confined to his hand with only a few drops escaping onto the front of Sly’s pants.

For a few minutes all they could do was pant heavily as they tried to catch their breath, Sly slipping gently out of Aoba and resting against his shoulder. Aoba brought a hand up to gently comb through his brother’s hair. The peace only lasted a few seconds though, before Aoba felt an uncomfortable warmth sliding down his thighs. He tensed and let out a small whine, trying (and failing) to clamp his legs together to keep it from coming out. Sly noticed and laughed at Aoba’s awkward stance, earning him a glare – though it would’ve been more effective if he wasn’t also clearly still coming down from his climax and if it wasn’t Sly’s cum dripping out of his hole. Even so, Sly stopped laughing and shrugged off his sweatshirt, gesturing for Aoba to turn around.

“H-huh?! Sly you can’t use your sweatshirt, it’ll get dirty!” Aoba looked so appalled and Sly started laughing again. When he quieted down he simply repeated his gesture and wiped Aoba’s cum off his own hand.

“There, now it’s already dirty. So turn around and let me clean you up, unless you really wanna walk home like that.” Aoba’s expression fell as he considered his options. Eventually coming to the conclusion that walking home with cum dripping out his ass was definitely not something he ever wanted to experience, he reluctantly turned around and placed his elbows on the wall in front of him.

“I’ll at least do the laundry tomorrow.” He mumbled quietly and heard Sly chuckle as he knelt behind him.

“It’s fine. I came inside you without asking, so it’s only fair I take responsibility.” Aoba’s face burned again as thoughts of what just occurred started running through his mind. Seeming to sense Aoba’s change in mood, Sly continued to speak.  
“Oi, Aoba. I know how much you like to overthink things but, can you not do that right now? I mean, yeah, something crazy just happened and I’m sure you’ll have plenty of arguments with yourself over your big ass moral dilemmas and stuff. But like, at least enjoy the rest of the night with me before you get all mopey and start regretting everything.”

Something in Sly’s voice made Aoba’s heart clench. Did Sly really think he would regret this, like some trashy one night stand? He was probably right about the overthinking and the moral dilemmas, but even with all of that, not once at any point did Aoba ever think he could regret what just happened. He loved Sly. They were twins and shared everything. Aoba would think, and he would struggle, but he was certain that he would never, ever come to regret it.

Sly finished cleaning up while Aoba was lost in his thoughts. Quickly, he turned back around and redressed himself, looking at Sly as he did so. Sly was also readjusting his clothes, though at a slower pace than Aoba, and with a troubled look on his face. Aoba could’ve cried. Before he could register what he was doing, his arms were squeezing his twin in a suffocating hug and he buried his face in Sly’s hair.

“I will never regret this.”

He felt Sly freeze and when he didn’t say anything for a minute, Aoba tightened his grip.

“I love you, Sly. You’re my brother and I love you. I can’t promise I won’t think too much or accept this – whatever this is – right away. But I can say with 100% certainty that I won’t ever regret it.”

Slowly, he felt Sly relax in his arms and then carefully, as though Aoba would change his mind and run away if he moved too fast, he returned the hug. They stayed that way for a long while, in no rush to move, simply enjoying each other’s presence until Sly finally spoke up.

“I love you too, Aoba.”

He could sense that there was more than familial love behind those words, but he didn’t reject it. He may not be able to return it in kind, not yet, but the thought that someday he might be able to was enough for now. He planted a kiss against Sly’s neck in place of a verbal response, but Sly didn’t seem to mind. They didn’t part for a long while.

-

“Guess who got their first ‘A’ in photography?! This guy!”

Aoba burst through the door on Friday morning and practically skipped through the house to his and Sly’s bedroom, humming his favorite Goatbed song, looking for all the world like an over-excited kid who got an extra cookie at lunch, and he couldn’t have cared an ounce less. 

“Aoba, I swear to every god I can think of, if you don’t shut up immediately I will personally make sure you never speak again,” a very sleepy, very annoyed Sly called from the depths of the mess of blankets nestled on the corner of his bed.

Aoba rolled his eyes as he entered the room. “I thought you’d be more excited that your dumb face managed to get me a 94%. Also, aren’t you meant to be working?”

“Took the day off. Haga said he was closing early again anyway. And you have the same dumb face as me, asshole, or did you forget?”

Normally Sly’s words would’ve made his eyebrow twitch in annoyance and earned him a smack on the head, but Aoba was truly in too good of a mood to have it be ruined by grumpy-Sly’s taunts. He walked over to Sly’s bed and sat directly on the lump of blankets.

“Fucking shit, get the fuck off of me!” Sly twisted and rocked and seemed to be trying with all the strength he could muster this early in the morning (early meaning noon, but Sly didn’t have to work, so it was still morning for him) to throw his brother off, but to no avail. Aoba just grinned.

“Come out from your nest and I’ll get off.”

“It’s not a nest, it’s a cocoon,” he sounded genuinely offended and Aoba had to fight the urge to burst out laughing, “and I’m not coming out, it’s warm.”

“You’re going to suffocate.”

“Am not.”

“Suit yourself. I even had a ‘thanks for getting me an A’ present for you, but since you’d rather smother yourself in blankets than come out and talk to me, I guess I’ll just keep it for myself.” Aoba slowly walked towards the door, while Sly contemplated in silence.

“…a present?” Aoba smiled to himself.

“Yep! But you have to come out of the blankets to get it.”

“…” Aoba swore he heard a growl from the depths of the ‘cocoon’, but then Sly emerged looking less like a butterfly coming out of a chrysalis, and more like a bear being forced early out of hibernation. He pressed his lips together trying to keep a straight face.  
“What’s the present?”

The curiosity shining in those golden eyes was so innocent Aoba couldn’t stop a fond smile from spreading on his face. “Breakfast. The ridiculously sugary kind, sweet enough to give you a heart attack, just like you like it. But you’d better hurry downstairs, or Noiz will get to it before you.”

Sly’s eyes had been widening since the word ‘breakfast’, but the comment about Noiz sealed the deal and he was suddenly flailing about trying to escape from his blanket prison before Noiz, the notorious sugar addict of the house, stole his prize away from him. Aoba couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him as Sly finally disentangled himself and fell to the floor in a heap. His chuckle earned him a glare from his twin, but before Sly could run out the door, Aoba took hold of his wrist and held him in place.

“What? I swear if Noiz eats my food –“

“Good morning, Sly.” He punctuated his greeting with a soft kiss on Sly’s lips and pulled away still smiling.

“Good morning to you too, nerd, may I please go eat now?” The politeness was so sarcastic it almost came full circle back to being genuine but Aoba just sighed at the nickname (they had become increasingly commonplace in their daily conversations) and nodded.

“I was joking about Noiz, by the way. He’s not even home. So if you wanna, you know, put pants on or something no one’s going to steal your food. No one besides you too could handle something like doughnuts for breakfast anyway.”

Sly turned and moved closer with a dangerous look in his eye. Aoba would’ve been scared, but Sly had stopped scaring him a while ago. He just raised an eyebrow.

“I hate you, you know that?”

“No, you don’t.” He was confident in his answer, more confident than he ever thought he would be.

Sly just scowled in response and leaned forward to steal another kiss. “Whatever.” He turned again and walked out of the room, leaving Aoba alone with a stupidly fond smile stretching his cheeks. He made to follow Sly to the kitchen, to make sure he didn’t eat so fast he hurt his stomach.

As he left the room, he spoke quietly to himself, though no one was around to hear him.

“I love you.”

**Author's Note:**

> holy shit that ending is so sappy i'm gonna puke
> 
> In case anyone was curious:
> 
> -Aoba (21) is a Public Communications major with a minor in Computer Programming, gets a lot of help from Noiz  
> -Sly (21) finished high school and went straight to working/bothering Aoba full-time  
> -Clear (22) is a nanny and usually takes care of Kio/Mio/Nao but occasionally has other clients too, is the designated cook, doesn't wear his gas mask except for fun sometimes  
> -Koujaku (24) teaches a few classes at the local cosmetology school and also has his own hairdressing business on the side, has a pet bird ofc  
> -Noiz (19) graduated (really early, he's a fuckin genius) with a degree in Computer Programming and a minor in Information Systems and is in semi-in charge of the Japanese branch of his parents' investing business alongside his brother Theo (17) who still lives in Germany (but he makes all his money hacking/info brokering for fun)  
> -Mink (27) teaches Indigenous History/related classes at the college and sells charms/trinkets/crafts when he feels like it (is also the handy man of the house because these nerds are all pathetically incompetent at things like that), also has a pet bird that's really quiet but koujaku's bird hates him and no one knows why
> 
> so basically it's like the game but less angst and everyone co-exists relatively painlessly
> 
> idk if Sei is gonna have a place here *sobs* but i'm not totally nixing the idea!! i love sei so much it hurts


End file.
